Hockey wars butt into Quebec election

KEVIN DOUGHERTY, GAZETTE QUEBEC BUREAU CHIEF09.03.2012

PQ leader Pauline Marois signs a plastic shovel at a sod turning rally for the city's new hockey rink Monday, September 3, 2012 in Quebec City.Quebecers go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new provincial government.

QUEBEC CITY – The simmering hockey war, between Quebec City fans seeking the return of the Nordiques to the National Hockey League, and, anybody who might get in their way, became an election issue Monday when Pauline Marois was booed as she moved through a crowd gathered at a sod turning for the arena where the new Nordiques would play.

Quebec City does not have a team and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly sent signals that even if the $400-million facility is built the league has no plans to create a new franchise or move an existing club to Quebec City.

People in the crowd chanted, “Canada!” Canada!” “Canada!” as Marois led a group of Parti Québécois candidates shaking hands and kissing people who also asked to have their pictures taken with the PQ leader.

At the same time Liberal leader Jean Charest and his candidates were making their way through the crowd and came within five metres of the Marois group before it veered off.

Charest may have set the stage Sunday when he suggested Bettman would be even less interested in giving Quebec City a team should Marois, whose PQ is leading in the polls, win power, noting Marois wants a new sovereignty referendum, which she has said would lead to five years of turbulence in the event of a yes vote.

“Do we need to take such a risk?” Charest asked. “Will Bettman opt for a stable city or one in a period of turmoil?”

Charest said the election choice is clear. “Do we want to attract a hockey team to a city with full employment or a city with five years of uncertainty?”

Marois left the event early, but Charest stayed for the sod turning by Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume and Pierre Karl Péladeau, CEO of Quebecor Inc., which has a management contract for the arena and a mandate to secure an NHL franchise.

Charest was not booed and Yves Bolduc, the Liberal health minister, seeking re-election in Quebec City’s Jean-Talon riding, gave cardio-respiratory assistance to the wife of Huron-Wendat grand chief Max Gros-Louis, who collapsed at the event.

Bolduc’s press aide confirmed the woman regained consciousness before she was taken away in an ambulance.

Marois replied to Charest Monday that it was under a PQ government in 1979 that the Nordiques switched from the World Hockey Association to the NHL.

“I think Mr. Charest is out of arguments,” she said.

Charest won a majority in the 2008 election in large part because it held Quebec City seats but this time the Coalition Avenir Québec is ahead in the region, where the PQ would be lucky to hold the two seats it now has.

Many of those gathered for the sod turning wore blue Quebec Nordiques sweaters and carried blue plastic shovels, a souvenir of the event.

One of them, Jean-Philippe Trudelle, said he had voted for Legault because “he has charisma like Jack Layton” and he would never vote for the PQ because, “In 1982 they cut my mother’s pay 20 per cent.”

In the 1982 recession, the PQ government of the day cut public-sector salaries across the province by 20 per cent to reduce spending.

Earlier Marois was greeted by her mother, 85-year-old Marie-Paule Gingras, as she stepped off her campaign bus for her first event of the day Monday.

Handlers for Marois said they tried to keep it secret from Marois that her mother would be there.

She was invited to the boating centre rally by Rosette Côté, PQ candidate in Louis-Hébert riding, who met Gingras while canvassing door-to-door for votes.

When shown the program for the day, Marois asked who this “Madame Gingras” was with Côté, and the jig was up.

Marois embraced her mother and Côté before delivering a pep talk to urge PQ supporters to get out to vote in Tuesday’s election.

Asked afterwards how she has managed to keep up the pace in the 35-day election campaign, Marois said, “I have good genes.”

She also said she takes long, rapid walk, or does other forms of exercise, every day.

“It’s good for my mental health too,” the PQ leader said.

Marois was accompanied by Léo Bureau-Blouin, a leader of student protests this spring in response to the Charest government’s imposition of a $1,788 tuition hike over seven years. Marois has promised to cancel the increase.

Bureau-Blouin is the PQ candidate in Laval-des-Rapides riding and Marois said he was with her Monday to help get out the student vote.”

“I want to send a message to all young Quebecers – go and vote,” Marois said. “Even if they decide to not vote for the Parti Québécois.”

And she added if they do vote, they can criticize their political leaders.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.